Before Ardall the Great arrived, Ardacia was a secret to the world, known as "Nokulikulk" to the hut-dwelling natives that called it home. It meant "Dirt Which is Precious" in their harsh tongue, a fact Ardall would only learn as an old man after conquering their precious dirt, appointing scholars and pacified natives to the task of translating his subject's language. Ardall's conquest was a relatively quick one -- The natives of Nokulikulk, while having tales boasting of troll-slayers and dragon-chasers among their rank, had never seen the steel, formations, or horses Ardall brought with him, and were smashed in every engagement until Ardall's forces had reached the northern shores. Since this conquest, the sons and grandsons of Ardall have been the emperors of Ardacia, maintained through the imperial house of Arda, stewards of Verania. So it has been for five hundred years.
The Ardacians, as they are now known, are comprised of many kingdoms under the banner of an empire. While more or less the same in culture, following the faith brought to the continent by Ardall and following the same social conventions from coast to coast, there are still a great number of differences from kingdom to kingdom. In the imperial city, lords drink spiced wine out of crystal goblets while they gaze out at the Conqueror's Sea, while clans on the northern coasts past the Valley of Tears tell thousands-year old stories in Oldtongue in torchlit caves. It is not the similarities or alliances between kingdoms that has held Ardacia together for half a millennium -- kingdoms come and go in marriage alliances, petty feuds blown into wars, or trifle arguments over acres of land. It is the power of the House of Arda that has maintained the Empire, and the times they have used this power to serve its people.
Currently, no member of the House of Arda has left the Imperial City in over two generations. Bettering the city has become something of a pet project for the emperors of the past three hundred years, who have built under, on top of, and around the city countless times. The capital now boasts the continent's largest temple, nearly a million residents, and over a thousand ships in its ports. There is an expansive tunnel system to manage sewage beneath the streets, two fire brigades, two arenas, six guard forces -- two funded imperially, four privately -- and five great houses beneath the emperor's heel to manage every facet of the city. Every earthly delight can be found within the city's walls, and so for the past hundred and fifty years, the emperors of Ardacia have lived lives of delight. Elsewhere, things are not so.
The Ardacians, as they are now known, are comprised of many kingdoms under the banner of an empire. While more or less the same in culture, following the faith brought to the continent by Ardall and following the same social conventions from coast to coast, there are still a great number of differences from kingdom to kingdom. In the imperial city, lords drink spiced wine out of crystal goblets while they gaze out at the Conqueror's Sea, while clans on the northern coasts past the Valley of Tears tell thousands-year old stories in Oldtongue in torchlit caves. It is not the similarities or alliances between kingdoms that has held Ardacia together for half a millennium -- kingdoms come and go in marriage alliances, petty feuds blown into wars, or trifle arguments over acres of land. It is the power of the House of Arda that has maintained the Empire, and the times they have used this power to serve its people.
Currently, no member of the House of Arda has left the Imperial City in over two generations. Bettering the city has become something of a pet project for the emperors of the past three hundred years, who have built under, on top of, and around the city countless times. The capital now boasts the continent's largest temple, nearly a million residents, and over a thousand ships in its ports. There is an expansive tunnel system to manage sewage beneath the streets, two fire brigades, two arenas, six guard forces -- two funded imperially, four privately -- and five great houses beneath the emperor's heel to manage every facet of the city. Every earthly delight can be found within the city's walls, and so for the past hundred and fifty years, the emperors of Ardacia have lived lives of delight. Elsewhere, things are not so.
Ardacia is the planet's smallest continent, and the only continent to be united under a single banner. The Ardacian Empire has held unquestioned control of the continent for the past five hundred years by dividing the empire into kingdoms loyal to the empire and their laws, as well as by adapting pieces of native culture and religion to make initial transition to imperial rule easier. Ardacia has six kingdoms -- Alba, Edontas, Kilronan, Murkran, Sylvane, and Verania -- of which five are ruled by ancient, esteemed houses, and Verania by the line of Ardall the Great himself.
Ardacian geography is almost entirely temperate forest, with little variation save for the marshland of Murkran and the craggy mountains of Alba. Unlike the other two continents, no magical creatures remain; the Ardacians have valued honor long before Ardall came and named their land after himself, and have thus been seeking out dragons, trolls, and all the glory their unshouldered heads carry for thousands of years. The remnants of all magic are six ancient artifacts, held by the Ardacian kings as quasi-symbols for their right to rule. Other than this, Ardacians loathe magic and all its practitioners, leaving them with only a small group of pagan outliers sequestered to living as woods witches, fortune tellers, and local healers of remote villages.
From Alba to Verania, Ardacians worship the two moons, Yord and Dinna, as they have done since before Ardall's conquest, albeit in an older, forgotten manner. It is believed that Ardall was born on the Olive Islands southeast of Ardacia, where a hermaphroditic God/Goddess called "Vydinnya" is followed. If this theory is true, it is possible that upon his arrival, Ardall adapted the beliefs of the local moon-worshippers to fit the mold of his foreign faith, splitting Vydinnya's two aspects to appease the local moon worshippers. A key difference between the Vyndinyic faith and Yordism is that Yordism's tales feature many lesser spirits, tied to key locations in Ardacia. Following the previous theory, many Ardacian clerics and religious scholars believe that these lesser spirits were once part of a native animist pantheon, relegated to stewards of the moon gods after Ardall's arrival.
Ardacian geography is almost entirely temperate forest, with little variation save for the marshland of Murkran and the craggy mountains of Alba. Unlike the other two continents, no magical creatures remain; the Ardacians have valued honor long before Ardall came and named their land after himself, and have thus been seeking out dragons, trolls, and all the glory their unshouldered heads carry for thousands of years. The remnants of all magic are six ancient artifacts, held by the Ardacian kings as quasi-symbols for their right to rule. Other than this, Ardacians loathe magic and all its practitioners, leaving them with only a small group of pagan outliers sequestered to living as woods witches, fortune tellers, and local healers of remote villages.
From Alba to Verania, Ardacians worship the two moons, Yord and Dinna, as they have done since before Ardall's conquest, albeit in an older, forgotten manner. It is believed that Ardall was born on the Olive Islands southeast of Ardacia, where a hermaphroditic God/Goddess called "Vydinnya" is followed. If this theory is true, it is possible that upon his arrival, Ardall adapted the beliefs of the local moon-worshippers to fit the mold of his foreign faith, splitting Vydinnya's two aspects to appease the local moon worshippers. A key difference between the Vyndinyic faith and Yordism is that Yordism's tales feature many lesser spirits, tied to key locations in Ardacia. Following the previous theory, many Ardacian clerics and religious scholars believe that these lesser spirits were once part of a native animist pantheon, relegated to stewards of the moon gods after Ardall's arrival.
- Bastards adopt the surname of “Black” due to the stain on their family’s honor that comes from siring them, as well as being restricted to the all-black shield of bastardy if they choose to decorate their arms. Minor houses founded by bastards of noblemen must take the word "Black" in their surname as a reminder of their roots. Accordingly, the color is associated throughout the six kingdoms with dishonor, ill fortune, and sin. Most peasants who own horses have black mares, as they are frequently the cheapest horses available.
- Slavery is legal in Orlandis and Vyntarland, and illegal in Ardacia. Before Ardall's arrival, thanes in the wetlands practiced slavery, though it was not a common practice across the continent and outright banned by Ardall.
- The calendar is based on Ardall's landing, hence the Ardacian Era (AE) with everything recording previously being referred to as the vague sense of historical notation—the Historic Era (HE). The year is set up into twelve months (Six for each season, winter and summer) with seven day weeks. Individual days are known by their number within the week or month, whereas the twelve months are named after the constellations of old (and reformed as the wardens of Yord and Dinna):
Ulfdor, Rangidor, Capras, Ursor, Ibis, Aurdor, Hassendor, Cydor, Biendor, Pesdor, Esquis, and Hundor.
- Slavery is legal in Orlandis and Vyntarland, and illegal in Ardacia. Before Ardall's arrival, thanes in the wetlands practiced slavery, though it was not a common practice across the continent and outright banned by Ardall.
- The calendar is based on Ardall's landing, hence the Ardacian Era (AE) with everything recording previously being referred to as the vague sense of historical notation—the Historic Era (HE). The year is set up into twelve months (Six for each season, winter and summer) with seven day weeks. Individual days are known by their number within the week or month, whereas the twelve months are named after the constellations of old (and reformed as the wardens of Yord and Dinna):
Ulfdor, Rangidor, Capras, Ursor, Ibis, Aurdor, Hassendor, Cydor, Biendor, Pesdor, Esquis, and Hundor.
Currency in Ardacia is settled into the categories of nickel, copper, iron, and gold. Silver is not used as it is considered a holy material by the Yordist Church. The coins are named "crowns", while they are sometimes colloquially known by their metals. Two Veranian lords discussing finance over letters would sound like "Within a fortnight this debt shall be paid with twenty gold crowns." whereas an innkeep in the Wetlands is more likely to say something like "Our best room is two irons, and our worst is two coppers. You can sleep in the stables for a nickel."
- A nickel crown is the equivalent of a dollar coin, used typically to add up to a copper, but also for petty bets and tipping minstrels. Because saying something is worth a nickel, or offering to buy something for a nickel is considered offensive, the minimum price for nearly all tangible goods is two nickels. Petty lords and landed knights are sometimes derisively called "Nickel Lords".
- A copper crown is worth five nickels. It is the unspoken, minimum price for a Yordist blessing, as less would be considered distasteful. Single coppers are used to pay for meals, wine, or ale, whereas many coppers are typically used to pay for low-end goods; Old steeds, ugly whores, and dull swords. Because many coastal Orlandic societies use copper coins for a higher value than Ardacians, it is a common practice among smugglers and pirates to turn Ardacian coppers into counterfeit Orlandic coins, leaving those requesting payment or change in copper crowns to be viewed with suspicion.
- An iron crown is worth twenty nickels. It is the most common coin in Ardacia, used for everything from meals to ships. Lords typically pay smallfolk in many iron crowns, as they carry less prestige than a few gold crowns. Single irons are used to pay for a round of drinks, many irons can be used to purchase a horse. Because of their relatively high value, using iron coins to forge an iron object such as a sword or chain is cost-ineffective, whereas their unique reuleaux-triangle shape makes them the most difficult crown to forge counterfeits of.
- A gold crown is worth one hundred nickels. It is the second-most common coin in Ardacia, and has no commoner's equivalent; A gold crown is always called a gold crown. This is because gold crowns are almost always handled by noblemen, partly because of the reluctance of noblemen to bequeath them to smallfolk, and partly because of the danger carrying gold presents to a commoner with no means to defend it. One gold piece can buy you a voyage to Orlandis, many gold pieces can buy you just about anything.
- A copper crown is worth five nickels. It is the unspoken, minimum price for a Yordist blessing, as less would be considered distasteful. Single coppers are used to pay for meals, wine, or ale, whereas many coppers are typically used to pay for low-end goods; Old steeds, ugly whores, and dull swords. Because many coastal Orlandic societies use copper coins for a higher value than Ardacians, it is a common practice among smugglers and pirates to turn Ardacian coppers into counterfeit Orlandic coins, leaving those requesting payment or change in copper crowns to be viewed with suspicion.
- An iron crown is worth twenty nickels. It is the most common coin in Ardacia, used for everything from meals to ships. Lords typically pay smallfolk in many iron crowns, as they carry less prestige than a few gold crowns. Single irons are used to pay for a round of drinks, many irons can be used to purchase a horse. Because of their relatively high value, using iron coins to forge an iron object such as a sword or chain is cost-ineffective, whereas their unique reuleaux-triangle shape makes them the most difficult crown to forge counterfeits of.
- A gold crown is worth one hundred nickels. It is the second-most common coin in Ardacia, and has no commoner's equivalent; A gold crown is always called a gold crown. This is because gold crowns are almost always handled by noblemen, partly because of the reluctance of noblemen to bequeath them to smallfolk, and partly because of the danger carrying gold presents to a commoner with no means to defend it. One gold piece can buy you a voyage to Orlandis, many gold pieces can buy you just about anything.
Most orthodox believers accept that the text presented in the scriptures are objective and literal rather than metaphorical and allegorical. The head of the organized religion is The High Brother, who is elected and serves his sentence at The Silver Temple, located in the Kingdom of Kilronan.
The defining doctrines of the religion are ones to lead man through moralistic virtue and away from hedonistic sin. Such virtues include peace, humility, kindness, diligence, charity, temperance, and chastity; whereas the sins of man include wrath, pride, envy, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. For those who commit sin, they must confess to the Gods in the sanctity of a temple.
General worship is focused on temple proceedings, academic lectures, and devout symbolism. Said symbolism can be reflected with the symbol of the faith, a silver moon. A necklace bearing a silver moon shows desire to be devoted to god, and perhaps in some minds a reminder to steer them away from vile temptations. In temples as well as lordship chapels there exist small basins of water blessed by priests of the faith to allow individuals to, when confessing, “wash” their sins away as they have their private moment with the Gods. In rural roadside temples, this basin is frequently no more than a wooden bucket, and in the grandest temples of the world, multi-tiered fountains spout water in cascading waterfalls -- sometimes silver coins anointed with prayers are tossed within these same fountains. Worship extends to hymns, traditional ballads, and readings of the scripture.
Over the earliest years of Ardall's reign, it became an issue when the new faith of Ardacia collided with the old faith practiced in Nokulikulk, an animist faith that put much belief into constellations and spiritual intervention. It was here that the old beliefs were merged into Yordist religion, to prevent a schism of ideals—an amendment that only encouraged well-being of human virtue. To accomplish this, Ardall printed the first texts of Yordism, which included stewards of Yord and Dinna who were remarkably similar to the Nokulikulkian pantheon. These old beliefs of spiritual constellations that were merged include:
The Bee / Biendor – Represents wealth, believed to grant abundance of harvest.
The Hare / Hasen – Represents luck, believed to bring good fortune.
The Hound / Hundif – Represents protection, believed to ward off dark omens.
The Bull / Auron – Represents strength, believed to watch over warriors who prepare for war.
The Owl / Ibisa – Represents wisdom, believed to grant knowledge to those in need of guidance.
The Raven / Raber – Represents death, believed to watch over the dead and prevent sickness.
The Swan / Cydra – Represents love, believed to aide in problems of conception.
The Fish / Peshda - Represents
The defining doctrines of the religion are ones to lead man through moralistic virtue and away from hedonistic sin. Such virtues include peace, humility, kindness, diligence, charity, temperance, and chastity; whereas the sins of man include wrath, pride, envy, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. For those who commit sin, they must confess to the Gods in the sanctity of a temple.
General worship is focused on temple proceedings, academic lectures, and devout symbolism. Said symbolism can be reflected with the symbol of the faith, a silver moon. A necklace bearing a silver moon shows desire to be devoted to god, and perhaps in some minds a reminder to steer them away from vile temptations. In temples as well as lordship chapels there exist small basins of water blessed by priests of the faith to allow individuals to, when confessing, “wash” their sins away as they have their private moment with the Gods. In rural roadside temples, this basin is frequently no more than a wooden bucket, and in the grandest temples of the world, multi-tiered fountains spout water in cascading waterfalls -- sometimes silver coins anointed with prayers are tossed within these same fountains. Worship extends to hymns, traditional ballads, and readings of the scripture.
Over the earliest years of Ardall's reign, it became an issue when the new faith of Ardacia collided with the old faith practiced in Nokulikulk, an animist faith that put much belief into constellations and spiritual intervention. It was here that the old beliefs were merged into Yordist religion, to prevent a schism of ideals—an amendment that only encouraged well-being of human virtue. To accomplish this, Ardall printed the first texts of Yordism, which included stewards of Yord and Dinna who were remarkably similar to the Nokulikulkian pantheon. These old beliefs of spiritual constellations that were merged include:
The Bee / Biendor – Represents wealth, believed to grant abundance of harvest.
The Hare / Hasen – Represents luck, believed to bring good fortune.
The Hound / Hundif – Represents protection, believed to ward off dark omens.
The Bull / Auron – Represents strength, believed to watch over warriors who prepare for war.
The Owl / Ibisa – Represents wisdom, believed to grant knowledge to those in need of guidance.
The Raven / Raber – Represents death, believed to watch over the dead and prevent sickness.
The Swan / Cydra – Represents love, believed to aide in problems of conception.
The Fish / Peshda - Represents
Orlandis is the largest landmass on the planet, estimated by its wisest scholars to stretch approximately fifty million miles across the southern half of the globe. There are about one hundred widespread faiths in Orlandis, five hundred known ethic groups, and thousands of countless regional faiths, cults, and kingdoms whose rulers claim to have immediate correspondence with some cosmic figure. While Orlandis contains many different faiths, nations, and groups of peoples, nearly all of it shares a desert landscape due to the few lakes and rivers present on the continent. Where the endless red clay of Orlandis ends, brushes of tropical rainforest and savanna begin. Orlandis' southernmost portion is an uninhabited tundra, known colloquially as "The End" where vegetation, water, and all life come to a halt.
Due to the sheer size of the continent, it has never been successfully conquered by any man or nation, though the closest it had come was the ancient rule of Orlan the Wise, who built the continent's ancient expansive highway system that bridges peoples millions of miles apart, as well as the countless ancient wells scattered almost randomly throughout the continent, which have allowed entire villages to thrive even in the most remote places. For this reason, he is honored by all nations by having their shared lands under his name, as well as by following an ancient set of rules he had initially written for his small kingdom. As the only governments to fully keep to Orlan's Word are typically the oldest nations who consider themselves the most "cultured" of the Orlandic peoples, basic tenants of Orlan's Word still make up pillars of even the most primitive peoples on the continent; Rape is seen as a crime in nearly all of Orlandis, The murder of the unarmed or unable is considered dishonorable from coast to coast, and thieves are categorized in nearly all parts of the continent by missing a hand. Although this is a far cry from the entire continent fully following a set of rules written by an ancient petty king, all the same, it is the way Orlandis managed to form the basis of their many societies' laws.
Food from Orlandis is generally well-seasoned, as the plants that grow in the Orlandic desert are typically as hot as their surroundings, limiting their palatability to birds that will carry their seeds farther across the desert. Ardacians typically find their food unpleasantly hot or sour, in addition to using many parts of an animal -- or insect -- that are not considered edible in Ardacia. Orlandians eat meat as a delicacy due to its scarcity, subsiding on more fruits and vegetables than their neighbors to the north, who take to a more starch and protein based-diet. Although there are thousands of different castes across the continent, the poor are universally almost always shirtless or wearing a sleeveless, mid-riffed tunic known as a Serfas, well the rich wear elaborately wrapped, loose-fitting tunics called Oras. Orlandians have developed tattoos, though they are almost never seen outside of Orlandis' southernmost societies near The End.
Due to the sheer size of the continent, it has never been successfully conquered by any man or nation, though the closest it had come was the ancient rule of Orlan the Wise, who built the continent's ancient expansive highway system that bridges peoples millions of miles apart, as well as the countless ancient wells scattered almost randomly throughout the continent, which have allowed entire villages to thrive even in the most remote places. For this reason, he is honored by all nations by having their shared lands under his name, as well as by following an ancient set of rules he had initially written for his small kingdom. As the only governments to fully keep to Orlan's Word are typically the oldest nations who consider themselves the most "cultured" of the Orlandic peoples, basic tenants of Orlan's Word still make up pillars of even the most primitive peoples on the continent; Rape is seen as a crime in nearly all of Orlandis, The murder of the unarmed or unable is considered dishonorable from coast to coast, and thieves are categorized in nearly all parts of the continent by missing a hand. Although this is a far cry from the entire continent fully following a set of rules written by an ancient petty king, all the same, it is the way Orlandis managed to form the basis of their many societies' laws.
Food from Orlandis is generally well-seasoned, as the plants that grow in the Orlandic desert are typically as hot as their surroundings, limiting their palatability to birds that will carry their seeds farther across the desert. Ardacians typically find their food unpleasantly hot or sour, in addition to using many parts of an animal -- or insect -- that are not considered edible in Ardacia. Orlandians eat meat as a delicacy due to its scarcity, subsiding on more fruits and vegetables than their neighbors to the north, who take to a more starch and protein based-diet. Although there are thousands of different castes across the continent, the poor are universally almost always shirtless or wearing a sleeveless, mid-riffed tunic known as a Serfas, well the rich wear elaborately wrapped, loose-fitting tunics called Oras. Orlandians have developed tattoos, though they are almost never seen outside of Orlandis' southernmost societies near The End.
Vyntarland is home to the Vyntish, or as they are more commonly known, the Vyntarmen. Since time immemorium, they have been lead by great tribes, recognizing tribal ties in lieu of parental lineage -- This is because Vyntarmen do not have families, instead being conceived almost exclusively through forcible passing encounters and raised by their tribe's designated child-rearing slave. The philosophy of Vyntarmen is a dual-natured one, to be entirely alone in the world and known only for individual honor, while also defending your tribe with your life. As such, the culture of Vyntarland is understandably difficult for outsiders to grasp. The goal of any Vyntarman is to uplift himself in the eyes of his tribe through acts of brutality and valor, and to uplift his tribe in the eyes of their god through acts of ritual torture and sacrifice.
Vyntarmen, despite their territorial, divided nature, are culturally homogenous, sharing a single faith from coast to coast -- Nol der Maal, the Black Sun, an apocalypse-heralding god appeased by human pain. Aside from tribal conflict, The is perhaps the largest fuel to Vyntarland's ever-present infighting; Nol is a giant who sleeps within the sun, who is the father of all Vyntarmen. The pain of his children, be it through being captured and tortured by a rival tribe or dying honorably on the field of battle, supposedly bring Nol a step closer to his awakening, when he will burn the Earth and bring his faithful children to a land of eternal bliss. Accordingly, Vyntarmen place a high value on physical pain, frequently scarring their skin with glyphs, modifying their bodies with jewelry hung from pierced holes, and keeping captured slaves in agonizing pain for as long as they can survive.
Vyntarland's vegetation-free climate has resulted in a diet that is almost completely unpalatable for foreigners, along with most aspects of the Vyntish culture. To the Vyntarmen, water is the antitheses of blood, in that blood is strong while water is weak. Therefore, Vyntarmen seldom drink plain water. Their choice of beverages operate under the concept that the less water-like, the better. Blood, milk, and fermented root-based alcohol make up the majority of Vyntarmen beverages, while their diets subsist solely of fish, red meat, and butter. Vyntarmen waste very little, and are known for leaving zero traces of their hunts behind. If a reindeer is caught that is too sick or old to pull a sled, its meat and organs are immediately eaten or stored, while its fur and bones are used for clothing, armor, or tents.
Vyntarmen, despite their territorial, divided nature, are culturally homogenous, sharing a single faith from coast to coast -- Nol der Maal, the Black Sun, an apocalypse-heralding god appeased by human pain. Aside from tribal conflict, The is perhaps the largest fuel to Vyntarland's ever-present infighting; Nol is a giant who sleeps within the sun, who is the father of all Vyntarmen. The pain of his children, be it through being captured and tortured by a rival tribe or dying honorably on the field of battle, supposedly bring Nol a step closer to his awakening, when he will burn the Earth and bring his faithful children to a land of eternal bliss. Accordingly, Vyntarmen place a high value on physical pain, frequently scarring their skin with glyphs, modifying their bodies with jewelry hung from pierced holes, and keeping captured slaves in agonizing pain for as long as they can survive.
Vyntarland's vegetation-free climate has resulted in a diet that is almost completely unpalatable for foreigners, along with most aspects of the Vyntish culture. To the Vyntarmen, water is the antitheses of blood, in that blood is strong while water is weak. Therefore, Vyntarmen seldom drink plain water. Their choice of beverages operate under the concept that the less water-like, the better. Blood, milk, and fermented root-based alcohol make up the majority of Vyntarmen beverages, while their diets subsist solely of fish, red meat, and butter. Vyntarmen waste very little, and are known for leaving zero traces of their hunts behind. If a reindeer is caught that is too sick or old to pull a sled, its meat and organs are immediately eaten or stored, while its fur and bones are used for clothing, armor, or tents.
